Workers in China strike over iPhone 5 labor demands

Oct. 6, 2012
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The new iPhone 5. / Jefferson Graham, USA TODAY

by Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY

by Yamiche Alcindor, USA TODAY

Thousands of factory workers at a plant in China went on strike Friday to protest their working conditions on the iPhone 5's production lines, CNN reports.

Employees at Foxconn's plant in Zhengzhou, China, made the decision after management enacted "overly strict demands" for production of Apple's new iPhone 5.

The strike began at 1 p.m. local time on Friday with the majority of its participants from the on-site quality control line for the iPhone.The work stoppage has "paralyzed the production lines," CNN reports.

Neither Foxconn nor Apple responded to requests for comment by the news agency.

"Employees could not even turn out iPhones that met the standard" because of "design defects," according to China Labor Watch, a New York-based advocacy group that works closely with sources in China.

Foxconn's demands, coupled with the fact that workers were not allowed to take vacation time during a recent week-long holiday, created a high-pressure situation, CNN reports.

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